Late term bill proposess several patent law reforms, including post-grant opposition of patent claims
“The bottom line is this: there should be no question that the U.S. patent system produces high quality patents. Since questions have been raised about whether this is the case, the responsibility of Congress is to take a close look at the functioning of the patent system. Patent quality is key to continued innovation. Thus, we must act during the 109th Congress to assure the highest level of patent quality.”
With those words, Representative Howard Berman introduced the Patent Quality Assistance Act of 2004 (H.R. 5299) near the end of the 108th Congress. The PQAA includes several reform measures, including a post-grant opposition procedure and a system for submission of art by third parties on pending applications that have published. It also creates a rebuttable presumption of obviousness for business method patents in which the only novelty lies in the use of computer technology.
The PQAA includes other reform measures as well. A full review is forthcoming.
Representative Berman intends the PQA Act, or other similar measure, be enacted by the 109th Congress:
“…[W]e introduce this bill at the end of this Congress with the intent of framing the debate going into the 109th Congress, and with every intention of passing legislation in the next two years.”
Representative Berman’s comments on the introduction of the PQAA, the source of the quotes, are available here.
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